Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is a type of cancer that starts in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow and invades the blood. Here are some key points about CML:
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Origin: CML starts in certain blood-forming cells of the bone marrow, where a genetic change takes place in an early version of myeloid cells, forming an abnormal gene called BCR-ABL, which turns the cell into a CML cell.
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Symptoms: Signs and symptoms of CML may include weight loss, tiredness, drenching night sweats, fever, and pain or a feeling of fullness below the ribs on the left side.
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Progression: CML is a fairly slow-growing leukemia, but it can change into a fast-growing acute leukemia thats hard to treat.
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Treatment: CML is usually diagnosed in its chronic phase when treatment is very effective for most patients. Healthcare providers treat CML with innovative therapies that have turned it from being a potentially life-threatening illness into a chronic illness.
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Causes: CML is caused by the BCR-ABL1 fusion gene, which is not found in normal blood cells. The gene is formed by a translocation between parts of chromosomes 9 and 22 in a single bone marrow cell during cell division.
CML is a relatively uncommon type of cancer of the bone marrow, and it usually occurs during or after middle age, rarely occurring in children.
